Montreal Canadiens: Karl Alzner may make his debut against the St. Louis Blues

The Montreal Canadiens have a date with the St. Louis Blues for their sixth game of the season, and it may come with Karl Alzner in the lineup.

Flu season has been impacting the Montreal Canadiens early. It started with Carey Price who sat out of the games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings and has carried on over to Andrew Shaw who was absent from Tomas Plekanec‘s 1000th. With the St. Louis Blues in town, Claude Julien has already made it clear who will be starting.

The task falls to Price who again will be playing his first game since giving up three goals against the Los Angeles Kings. A .897 Sv% (save percentage) doesn’t look the best on paper, but the 31-year-old very much kept the Habs in it until the end. The team just couldn’t convert of any of their 40 shots on net into goals.

It’ll be a good time for Price to return as he’s 11-4-7 all-time against St. Louis.

But goaltending isn’t the only change that could occur. John Lu mentioned the possibility of a different looking roster as Claude Julien has more players who are sick or nicked up early on. Additionally, the names taking part in this morning’s skate may also be an indicator of what is to come. One of which in particular revolves around Karl Alzner.

Alzner has yet to play a game for the Montreal Canadiens yet this season as he’s been a healthy scratch for all five. However, seeing as how Victor Mete was among the last to leave the ice along with Shaw, Nicolas Deslauriers and Nikita Scherbak, perhaps this is Alzner’s moment to draw in.

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Mete most likely falls in the ‘sick’ category as he’s been playing well for the Habs with Jeff Petry. There shouldn’t be any danger revolving around his spot, so Alzner must have a stellar performance if he wishes to extend his window (assuming he’s playing).

It’s also possible Jonathan Drouin takes a seat. A blocked shot at the end of the Detroit game seemed to have hit him fairly hard, perhaps hard enough to earn him a night’s rest.

The Blues will be determined for this one as they’re entering the game having lost their previous two. They also only have a single victory on the books which is disappointing considering the expectations they had entering the season. The Brayden Schenn David Perron connection has been leading the charge offensively. Perron has four goals on the season while Schenn is the top point getter on St. Louis with two goals and three assists.

Save for overall execution, their goaltending hasn’t been getting it done lately. Jake Allen, who is expected to get the start, is currently sporting a .878 Sv%. But his latest game against the Chicago Blackhawks was impressive as he stopped 46 of 50 shots. ‘

The Montreal Canadiens sit third in the Atlantic Division. They’ve benefitted from a decent schedule that has seen other teams play less and they’ll need to continue adding points to remain where they are.